Day 20
06/06/2013 13:32The times after 9/11 were ones that left our country in a brand new world. While Pearl Harbor was the wake up call for our country in World War II we as Americans had never experienced an actual attack on the main land. I can remember feeling that day when the different sites were being attacked a sense of what is next my town? We did not know what the extent of the attacks would be that day. I was at work that day and our boss was going over what needed to be done that day when his beeper went off and he looked at it and he said to us “A plane has just crashed into the world trade center.” What came to my mind at that point was well someone had had a heart attack and a small single engine airplane had hit the building by accident. I never thought that someone would deliberately fly a plane into a large building like that. I was working a help desk for the ISD department of Wal-Mart that rolled out all new items to the stores. I was on the phone a lot and while I was on hold to someone I had called at a store I would listen to Wal Mart radio and they had basically turned on the news feed about what was happening. There were times I was interrupted from listening to this by my work and the person I needed to talk to would answer the phone. This is one thing I will say about Wal Mart in times of disaster this company reacts in a positive manor to help the community that is affected. Things like this also cause a rush on the stores by frightened people that are unsure of how this will effect them buying supplies for their homes. While there are a lot of things that I do not like about Wal Mart the way that they handle these things is commendable. They do not ever allow for gouging of customers by jacking prices in these times. I went to my first break of the day down to the break room that had a TV in it. Others on break were gathered there and we watched the news and as I was standing there the reporter on the station we were watching said “Oh my God there is another plane headed to the towers.” Then we watched as the second plane hit the second tower. Then it became clear that this was not an accident it was an attack. Never in my mind would I feel safe on a plane. After the work day was over I had planed in the morning to go buy gas for my truck as it was on empty. Now everyone had gone crazy gassing their cars up even when they only need a gallon or two. There was a police man that was on the site of the station directing people to the line and keeping order and I pulled up to him and said if I do not get gas soon I will run out. I am sure he had a lot of people tell him this and he looked at my fuel level in the truck. He sort of got mad at me and said that I should not have let it get that low but who could have ever thought we were going to be attacked that day. He let me pass up the line with a warning to not do that again. They had jacked the price of gas at the station to profit from the run. Little did we know that this was going to be close to the prices we pay now. Then after 9-11 the government passed The Patriot Act. I found this government page that summarizes it.
https://www.justice.gov/archive/ll/highlights.htm
I knew we were in for some trouble when they gave away our rights. When things are left to be interpreted by people in the government it can be taken to an extreme that was never though to happen by those that wrote it. Just like the bill that allowed tax exemptions for charitable groups had become abused by people. Today is the day we are now learning that the government has taken The Patriot Act to an extreme we could not imagine. They have given an order fro a Judge in Florida that is well know for his tough punishments and was appointed by Ronald Regan. They went to this judge for the order because they knew he would sign it. The order required Verizon to turn over the records of all cell phone users and their call data. We have not yet uncovered it but I am sure that the other phone companies have been given a similar order. This is a blanket being tossed over everyone saying we all are guilty of being involved in terrorism. Why wouldn’t Verizon refuse and shout to the world that they were being invaded by the government? Follow the money. What company wants to upset their customers with this sort of information? Both parties are responsible for The Patriot Act they both voted it in and they both voted to continue it. While our rights slipped away. I as an American want to have the government protect us from acts of terrorism but to me the terrorists win when they take our freedom away.